Print Strategies that Boost Marketing for Schools & Colleges
When it comes to marketing for schools, you could take an entire course on it and still face challenges. How to pass with flying colors? A smart print marketing strategy.
From recruitment to engagement to brand storytelling, print materials help you do it all – and be memorable while you do it. For schools, academies, colleges and universities, print boosts credibility, builds trust and enhances the whole campus experience. And Smartpress is the partner you want for this group project.
Key Takeaways
- High-quality, consistent print materials help schools recruit students, engage alumni and tell their brand story with credibility and clarity.
- From viewbooks and handbooks to banners and signage, Smartpress offers a wide range of custom print products tailored to your school’s goals.
- Comprehensive services like kitting and direct mail simplify campaigns and save time for marketing teams.
Legacy and Endowment Brochure
Yearbook
6 Reasons Print is Essential for Higher Education Marketing
Schools leverage print in all kinds of ways, from office stationery to recruitment booklets and direct mail fundraising campaigns.
“We utilize print in our daily operations and marketing strategy as another touchpoint with both prospective and current families,” said Taylor Filzen, director of marketing and communications at Southwest Christian High School. “Our print materials [are] a tangible extension of our in-person interactions.”
Here’s what print marketing has done for Filzen – and what it can do for anyone in the education industry.
“There’s something unique about being able to hand someone printed material versus just providing a link to digital media.”
1. Emphasize Quality & Prestige
Since they’re physical assets, high-quality print materials give your school a sense of prestige that’s especially effective for recruitment messaging and keeping donors engaged. When you prioritize printing for schools, you deliver a tactile experience that tells your audience you’re a premier institution. And at the most basic level, premium print quality makes your school look professional and impressive.
2. Drive Meaningful Engagement
Print marketing and engagement go hand in hand, making it a crucial medium to include in your higher ed marketing strategies. Thoughtfully-designed pieces are impossible to ignore and create tactile experiences that students, alumni and donors want to spend time with. They create moments that feel personal and intentional, helping schools deepen relationships and brand loyalty.
“There’s something unique about being able to hand someone printed material versus just communicating or providing a link to digital media,” said Filzen. “We want to capitalize on the opportunities of having print resources and provide something unique for both prospective and current families.”
3. Actively Connect in Your Community
With print, you create a tangible, trusted connection that cuts through digital noise. And when families and donors are making big academic and financial decisions, that connection carries serious weight.
4. Solidify Branding with Colors & Imagery
Color is king when it comes to marketing strategies for schools. It has the ability to influence decision-making, which is crucial when you’re trying to recruit prospective students (and their families) or motivate alumni to become regular donors. Vibrant and crisp brand colors add emotion to your storytelling and make your campus come alive for target audiences.
5. Stress Brand Consistency
If marketing for schools needs to be one thing, it’s consistent. Brand consistency boosts recognition and builds trust – it’s so much more than splashing your school colors across every asset. Branded print materials help maintain your institution’s visual identity, and when produced flawlessly, they weave a consistent (and credible) thread through various campaigns and print runs.
6. Captivate with Customization
Whether you’re designing direct mailers, marketing magazines or campus signage, custom print allows for tailored formats, finishes and sizes that match your school’s voice – boosting your metrics in ways generic materials can only dream of. Plus, print gives you the flexibility to produce short runs and high-volume orders, so you get exactly what you need for each campaign.
Admissions Folder with Prospectus Booklet and Viewbook
Why Schools Choose Smartpress for Print
Having a strategy for print marketing for schools is one thing. Finding an online printer that can execute it is another. For Filzen, a print partner had to fulfill specific needs: “We need the process of ordering and printing to be efficient, we need to have a quick turnaround, and the items need to fit within our budget.”
Smartpress provides that and more:
- Quality and consistency: We produce accurate, polished and consistent print that reflects your school’s standards. From admissions materials to campus communications, you can trust your brand to look its best – every run, every time.
- Range of custom products: We support the diverse print needs of schools and colleges, plus kitting and fulfillment services when multiple pieces need to arrive together. And with real-time price quotes, you can quickly see how your project will fit within your budget.
- World-class service: Our team offers responsive, human support and has experience managing complex projects. We’re print nerds who genuinely care about helping your school succeed.
- Reliable production schedules: With predictable turnaround times and on-time delivery, we help keep academic calendars, enrollment cycles and engagement efforts on track, ensuring your print arrives when expected.
“Kitting and direct mail services have been vital in our communication with external audiences.”
Print Products that Speak for Your School
When it comes to education printing, the right print product can make all the difference to your metrics. And how you choose which products to print depends on your intention for them:
“Our printed items are produced to give prospective and current families more information, promote a certain event or initiative and share the story and commitment of our school,” said Filzen. “We want to be intentional with those opportunities.”
From recruitment viewbooks and commencement programs to student handbooks and campus pole banners, a comprehensive print marketing suite reaches all of your audiences and keeps your school’s brand identity consistent.
“Admissions folders are first impression pieces, direct mail is a must for marketing and fundraising, and don’t forget about postcards as a simple way to send communications,” said Smartpress Account Executive John Schmanski. “We can even create huge wall and window murals for wayfinding building signage or decor.”
Letter Mailer with Reply Envelope
Print Services that Save Time and Effort
Smartpress not only has print products for school marketing, but also services to manage them conveniently. Filzen utilized our comprehensive direct mail services, along with kitting and assembly to boost efficiency.
“The kitting and direct mail services have been, and will continue to be, vital pieces in our communication with our external audiences,” she said. “Being able to access previous print jobs in the system with ease is a significant timesaver.”
With list acquisition, list processing, variable addressing and mailing, direct mail is one of Smartpress’ powerful education printing solutions.
“We can take designs and address lists to help easily execute a mailing campaign, from a simple postcard mailer to a multi-step fundraising campaign,” said Schmanski. “And don’t forget there’s an assigned account representative to help at every step along the way.
“Smartpress also offers print product templates through our Business Hub. If there’s a regularly ordered item, we can easily set it up with stored or uploadable artwork to make reordering easy and efficient for school marketing and admin teams.”
Viewbook
Print Delivers Results
When private school and college marketing strategies include print, the outcomes speak for themselves.
“Smartpress has met our needs, and I believe we’ve only scratched the surface with the print materials we’ve utilized,” said Filzen. “As a marketing department, we’re continually looking to generate new ideas and expand our materials, and their customer service team is always willing to help us work through any obstacles that may arise in our print projects.”
Schmanski said it’s Smartpress’ premium capabilities that help ensure successful print campaigns for schools.
“Clients can create efficiencies in their print projects by leveraging technology to easily order online, reorder from prior orders or use print templates. We even offer no-proof approval and instant proofing for many products,” he said. “Smartpress works to make printing easy and efficient.”
Partner with Smartpress to Print Marketing for Schools
Print allows schools to connect, engage and tell their story, and with Smartpress’ help, to do it all consistently and effectively. With high-quality materials, dependable production and hands-on support, we make every campaign easier to execute and every message more impactful. Smartpress + schools = A+ partnership.
